Singer, songwriter and producer, Harshn, has just released his second album, after working on it for eight months. Known behind the scenes as one of the top pop songwriters, including penning songs for the Afrikaans market, he has decided to focus on his solo career as a performer.
The result is Maverick, a carefully crafted album that draws from the ’80s and melds that sound with the more contemporary ethos of today.
His history began in Durban where he was discovered as a songwriter by EMI some 10 years back. He then moved to Joburg and spent the next decade writing songs and producing for other people.
“About four years ago I decided to go back to my roots which is live performance,” explains Harshn.
He released his first album in 2011, called The Sound of a Feeling, which was pop/rock based. It differs to his latest album in that Maverick is certainly more pop.
The first track from Maverick, Let It Go, enjoyed radio play last month across the large adult contemporary spectrum.
“I went back to the music I listened to growing up and then also added influences from my current favourite artists. When I did this I did it not from a sonic point of view, but from a writing point of view. I drew on the classic hits with the big power chords and used them in my choruses.”
Of the album title, he says people have always said he is maverick in his approach to making music: “I don’t follow trends. But I do write to compete internationally.
“I have a theme which runs through the album. We often look at the world through rose-tinted glasses, but my lyrics are a lot more brutal and also a lot more spiritual. I am currently in a space where I am comfortable with what I have to say.”
Writing songs for others and then for himself must mean that sometimes there is writers’ block?
“Sometimes, but I can see things happening while I am even speaking to you and this always gives me an idea. I guess it’s the curse we creatives are born with. I go through phases where I turn off the radio for two months. The other night I listened to five Bon Jovi albums in a row because I was feeling so nostalgic. The hardest part is always the songwriting. I write 50 songs and throw half of them away. But the enjoyable part is presenting the end product to other people who will be playing on the songs with you and they sit up and say: ‘Oh, wow.’”